Statement of Purpose Part Two

In order to be able to create Yahweh’s World, the non-profit organization, I need to be skilled in a lot of different areas. I decided to major in IDS because it gave me the chance to do that. I have taken classes such as Communication in Organizations and Public Speaking in the Communication Department which has helped develop my ability to speak in front of large groups, as well as, understand how people interact within a group. I have taken Careers in non-profit in order to understand the tasks and basis of a non-profit organization. This was a service-learning class that enabled me to assist in fundraising and program planning for a local non-profit called Sugar Grove Developmental Day School. I learned from the Executive Board what the needs of a non-profit are and helped raise a few hundred dollars in an ink-cartridge drive. I got a lot of good experience and got to interview all the different positions including an essential member, the grant writer. I am in the process of getting a minor in sociology and have taken Social Problems in America. Through this department I have gained an understanding of the problems in our society and also how to make a step towards progress. I have also been taking Special Education classes since that is the target population for the organization. In the future, I am taking a Business writing course that will give me a chance to write grants and memos, and some leadership classes that will help build the skills needed to lead a team of workers.

Along with these classes, I am doing a lot of extracurricular things to help in my integration of all my studies. I am a Resident Assistant in the dorms, so I am in charge of 36 residents. This position allows me to work on my managing and leadership skills. Each semester I have to do a certain amount of programs and also keep the hall clean and positive. This takes a lot of patience and time management, two skills that will help in the future. I work in the ACT office as a co-chair for the impact team. This is a volunteer group of students to help raise awareness about social issues in our community in Boone. We put on the big events on campus such as MLK Challenge, a day of service in honor of Martin Luther King, and Dance Marathon, which is an event that you raise money for 2 local non-profits and then dance for 24 hours. With this organization, I am learning how to encourage and motivate volunteers with things other than money. I am learning cool fundraisers that I can do in the future and building my network for the future. On top of these two things, I try and volunteer as much as possible and also at a variety of organization. I have worked with the Hospitality House that gives warm meals and shelter to people living in homelessness, and with the Humane Society that works to get homes for abandoned and abused animals; I have also worked on trails and with environmental groups like Appalachian Voices, and a mass of groups in between. I have helped with groups that were just getting started to groups that are well known and established. This is very helpful because it is helping me make a checklist of what needs to be done in each stage. All of my extracurricular stuff is giving me the hands on experience I will need in the future.

I am working towards an internship with a local non-profit. I try to apply everything I learn in class to what I do outside of the classroom. The outside stuff is helping to integrate the many disciplinary subjects together. In working with Sugar Grove I put on a Thanksgiving feast, but because the school had a lack in funds I had to work on getting donations. This didn’t just require my programming skills but also my ability to write for a non-profit to be able to get donations. Everything is interconnected just sometimes it takes an unexpected circumstance to see how they fit together.